1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wood chippers and, more particularly, to a remote control assembly for a wood chipper.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide a wood chipper for chipping wood such as brush, branches, and the like to produce wood chips. An example of such a wood chipper is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,539 to Morey. In this patent, the wood chipper includes an infeed hopper, primary feed wheel assembly, and a cutting assembly having a rotatable disc or drum with at least one knife or blade for chipping the wood entering the wood chipper and reducing it to wood chips. Typically, the primary feed wheel assembly includes a stationary lower primary feed wheel connected to a lower housing and a movable upper primary feed wheel connected to an upper housing movable relative to the lower housing for allowing wood to enter the cutting assembly. The primary feed wheel assembly may include a spring interconnecting the upper housing and the lower housing to urge the upper primary feed wheel toward the lower primary feed wheel to apply a spring force against the wood entering between the primary feed wheels to feed the wood to the cutting assembly.
It is also known to provide a winch assembly for a wood chipper to assist in pulling long lengths of wood material to the infeed hopper of the wood chipper. The winch assembly typically includes a housing connected to the infeed hopper. The winch assembly also includes a hydraulic motor having a cable attached thereto extending through the housing for connection to the wood material.
It is desirable to provide remote controls for a wood chipper to reduce operator physical involvement in operating the wood chipper. It is also desirable to provide remote controls for a wood chipper to operate components of an infeed area of the wood chipper. It is further desirable to provide remote controls for a wood chipper to operate a side feed wheel(s) and/or winch and/or top wheel lift cylinder of the wood chipper. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a remote control assembly for a wood chipper that meets these desires.